JM Communications Announces the Production of a New Independent Film, “The Roots Of Texas Mexican Food”

May 16, 2018

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2018--Filming will begin this summer on a new independent documentary titled “The Roots Of Texas Mexican Food.” The documentary is a production of JM Communications based in Houston, Texas, in collaboration with two Latin American filmmakers. Shooting locations include Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley. It will be aired on US Public Broadcast stations and on Latin American television stations, while some podcast segments will be streamed online.

The documentary features Texas archaeological and historical sites to show how cooking began 13,000 years ago with techniques like salting, drying, steaming, roasting and baking. But the filmmakers insist that it is not a cooking show. “It’s the untold story of how cooking shaped and celebrated the Mexican American community of Texas during 500 years of conquest,” says Adán Medrano, Executive Producer of the documentary.

Cooking is depicted as the act of survival and celebration of the Mexican American, Native American communities. Shooting locations include outdoor earth ovens and home kitchens, revealing that today’s Texas cooks are replicating what their indigenous ancestors cooked: quail, deer, cactus and seafood from the Texas gulf coast. “People narrate their histories through the act of cooking,” says Medrano.

“The Roots Of Texas Mexican Food” will be a bi-lingual documentary, with dialog recorded in English and Spanish. The international production crew will consist of Texas and Latin American filmmakers. The director is Anibal Capoano, an award-winning documentary filmmaker from Uruguay whose work includes four documentaries since 2009. The cinematographer is film veteran Gabriel Bendahan who has shot several feature documentaries and four major Latin American feature films, including “A Bullet For Che” directed by Gabriela Guillermo.

The production team is headed by long-time film production manager Virginia Díaz from Houston. Díaz is the Producer, and brings years of experience in feature films like “Selena,” and managing productions for 20 th Century Fox Television, including “Cristina’s Court” which earned three Emmy awards.

Díaz says that this new indie documentary will show how Mexican American “comida casera,” home cooking, has an international appeal. “We will film the Mexican home cooking of Texas, so that it resonates with other cultures and nations.”